Grey’s Anatomy season 8 ended with two of the cast leavingÂ—Chyler Leigh with Lexie’s death and Kim Raver with Teddy getting a new jobÂ—and before season 9 has even begun, it has been revealed that Eric Dane is just returning to wrap up his character. There will be new characters; what do they mean for the show?

Grey’sSeason 9 Spoilers

According to TV Guide, the new doctors, played by Camilla Luddington and Gaius Charles, “will facilitate the transition of Meredith, Cristina et al. from residents to attendings.” Shonda Rhimes explains, “One of the things I want to see our attendings do is teach and that’s what we’re seeing.” That means that at least some of the now-attendings will be likely sticking around (though they could always be teaching in another hospital, as it has been revealed that there will be another location other than Seattle this season), especially since something to look out for is how they teach while also relating to one another.

There’s also the matter of the aftermath and the long-lasting consequences of the plane crash that ended last season. How will that affect how these doctors deal with being new attendings in Grey’s Anatomy season 9 and having to teach? Of course, this being Grey’s, there’s also the matter of possible romance to think about at some point. Will the attendings have to deal with teaching the doctors under them about hospital romance and what not to do as well?

With the new season slated to pick up a couple of months after the crash, then flash back to what happened in the woods in episode 2 before returning to the “present” timeline, it should be interesting to see how the doctors are affected by what happened when the viewers see them as attendings. While the crash and the losses aren’t something that they can just get over, it is very different from showing them, say, a week after the crash. It’s no surprise there will be new doctors, but it still has yet to be seen how they’ll fit in and how the others will react to them.